Razelle Kurzrock's Biography

Razelle Kurzrock, Director, University of California San Diego

Dr. Razelle Kurzrock joined University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center in November 2012 as Senior Deputy Center Director for Clinical Science. She is also the Murray Professor of Medicine, Director of the Clinical Trials Office and, on July 1, 2014, became the Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology Division (in the UC San Diego School of Medicine) . Dr. Kurzrock’s charge includes growing and innovating the clinical trials program, and heading the newly established Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy and the UCSD Moores Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office. Dr. Kurzrock is best known for successfully creating and chairing the largest Phase I clinical trials department in the world while at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kurzrock's unique approach emphasizes using cutting-edge molecular profiling technologies to match patients with novel targeted therapies, reflecting a personalized strategy to optimize cancer treatment. Dr. Kurzrock has served as the Principal Investigator (PI) on more than 90 clinical trials, and overseen over 300 trials, mainly using novel targeted molecules, several of which have gone on to FDA approval. She has published over 500 peer-reviewed articles in a variety of elite medical journals. In addition, she is Chair of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Early Therapeutics Committee and on their Board of Governors and also serves on the Board of Directors for NCCN and for WIN (World-Wide Innovative Network for Personalized Cancer Therapy). She Chairs the Molecular Diagnostic Clinical Trials committee for the American Association of Cancer Institutes, as well as the Clinical Investigator Committee for NCCN, and the Clinical Trials Committee for WIN. Finally, Dr Kurzrock has been the PI of numerous grants and funding awards totaling over 50 million dollars. She is married to Dr. Philip Cohen who is a dermatologist at UCSD, and has four children.